Hamilton too good for Verstappen in epic Brazilian GP win
Lewis Hamilton put the qualifying disqualification behind him as he charged from 10th on the grid to victory in the 2021 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix.
The Brit battled hard with his title rival Max Verstappen and after two side-by-side battles, made the move with 12 laps to go and surged into the distance to close the gap in the points battle.
The main flashpoint came 10 laps prior to the eventual overtake as Hamilton tried to go round the Red Bull into turn four, Verstappen was having none of it, braking later and seeing both cars go off the road.
Verstappen had to settle for second owing to the performance advantage of the Mercedes at this track with Valtteri Bottas completing the podium after a well-timed virtual safety car for debris allowed the Finn to pit and re-pass Sergio Perez who overtook him at the start.
Perez pitted late on in order to steal the fastest lap point away from Hamilton and he managed to do so on the final tour.
Verstappen holds on to the championship lead but the gap has closed in again as they head to Qatar next weekend.
Ferrari tighten grip on third
Ferrari extended their lead over McLaren in the Constructors' Championship with fifth and sixth but their day wasn't without contact. Lando Norris had made an excellent start from fifth and tried to go round Carlos Sainz into turn one, but they ran out of room and Norris suffered a puncture before battling back to 10th.
Charles Leclerc beat his teammate to fifth on a day where Daniel Ricciardo was forced to retire in the second McLaren, as did Lance Stroll's Aston Martin.
AlphaTauri and Alpine remain locked in battle for fifth in the Constructors' Standings as Pierre Gasly's seventh was cancelled out by Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso following him over the line.
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